# agent-browser (slim)

> agent-browser is an open-source command-line tool from Vercel Labs that lets AI agents drive Chrome through accessibility-tree snapshots and element refs. It runs locally as a Rust binary and includes a stdio MCP server.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser.md (~5,750 tokens) · this version ~1,280 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

**B · 66.6/100 · rank #263 of 842 · #10 in Browser automation · not agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: Snapshots with element refs, a 29-tool default MCP profile and opt-in domain allowlists, action policies and content boundary markers suit agent use. The project is at 0.38.2 with no stable release, the ten most recent CI runs on main failed between 1 and 8 October 2026, and every security control is off by default.

## Facts

- Kind: MCP server · vendor: Vercel Labs · category: Browser automation · legal entity: Vercel Inc. · provenance 53/100
- Local only (stdio): npm `agent-browser`
- Auth: None · pricing: Free · x402: no · licence: Apache-2.0
- Probe metrics: not measured yet (probes haven't run)
- Interfaces: CLI (`agent-browser <command>`, `--json` output, `batch` for several commands) and a stdio MCP server (`agent-browser mcp`, protocol 2025-11-25)
- MCP tool profiles: `core` (default, 29 tools), `network`, `state`, `debug`, `tabs`, `react`, `mobile`, `all` (158 tools). Combine with commas, for example `--tools core,network`
- Install routes: npm 0.38.2, Homebrew 0.38.2, crates.io 0.19.0 (stale). Native binaries for macOS ARM64 and x64, Linux ARM64 and x64, Windows x64
- Browsers: Chrome for Testing by default, with existing Chrome, Brave, Playwright and Puppeteer installs detected. `--engine` also takes `lightpanda` and `obscura` (experimental). Safari on iOS through Appium
- Security controls: All opt-in. `--allowed-domains`, `--action-policy`, `--confirm-actions`, `--content-boundaries`, `--max-output`, an auth vault encrypted with AES-256-GCM, and `AGENT_BROWSER_ENCRYPTION_KEY` for saved state
- Telemetry: None found in the source. Not stated either way in the README or docs

- Scores: Reliability 48, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 84, Agent ergonomics 78, Security & auth 67, Payments & pricing 60, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 70, Transparency & trust 61 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Scored as local software. · Schema & documentation, Graded on the CLI and its MCP server. · Agent ergonomics, The CLI adds no tool definitions to context, and the MCP server defaults to 29 `core` tools with seven further profiles and paged tools/list… · Security & auth, The tool needs no credential. · Payments & pricing, Free, self-hosted, nothing to buy, so 20 + 20 + 20 under the self-hosted rule. · Maintenance & community, 0.38.2 on 1 October 2026 (30). · Transparency & trust, Apache-2.0, copyright Vercel Inc.
- Sources: 19, open questions: 6, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: browser.control, browser.debug
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-browser.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/agent-browser.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser from a page on agent-browser.dev or one of its subdomains, or the README of github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.

## Before you call it

1. Run `agent-browser install` once after `npm install -g agent-browser`. It downloads Chrome for Testing
2. Take a fresh `snapshot -i` after any navigation. Refs survive same-document changes only
3. Pass `--json` for machine-readable results and `--max-output` to cap page text
4. Set `--allowed-domains`, `--action-policy` and `--content-boundaries` for untrusted sites. None is on by default, and the allowlist rejects `--profile`, `--cdp` and `--restore`
5. Start MCP with `agent-browser mcp`, and add profiles such as `--tools core,network` only when needed

## Connect

```bash
npm install -g agent-browser && agent-browser install
```
Full config and headless snippets are in the full page. Through letme (picks today, calling later): https://letme.dev/agent-browser

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chrome DevTools MCP | BB | 77 | browser.control, browser.debug | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.min.md |
| Browserless | BB | 70.4 | browser.control, browser.debug | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserless.min.md |
| Steel | BB | 70.4 | browser.control, browser.debug | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.min.md |
| Anchor Browser | B | 67.3 | browser.control, browser.debug | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.min.md |
| Skyvern | B | 63.1 | browser.control, browser.debug | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/skyvern.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)